History Literature / FinnegansWake

* TomeOfEldritchLore: ''Finnegans Wake'' itself might as well be this, as it's about as difficult to understand as o ne, and it takes roughly the same toll on your sanity.

* TomeOfEldritchLore: ''Finnegans Wake'' itself might as well be this, as it's about as difficult to understand and takes roughly the same toll on your sanity.

''Finnegans Wake''[[note]]The lack of apostrophe is deliberate. If you want rigidly accurate grammar and spelling, this is definitely not the book for you.[[/note]] is a 1939 novel written by Creator/JamesJoyce. It took him 17 years to write, and may take nearly as long to read. The novel is written in English but an idiosyncratic version of the language specifically created for this book. It is an English adapted and inflected with several multilingual and multilayered puns in the style of Creator/LewisCarroll's ''Jabberwocky'' albeit on a far bigger scale. It contains elements, usually obscure puns, from over 60 world languages. The title is a reference to a 1850s Irish ballad called "Finnegan's Wake"[[note]]It has the apostrophe as you may notice[[/note]], a drinking song that tells the story of a man resurrected at his funeral when whiskey is spilled on his corpse.

It ''really'' helps to hear it being [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HgCjtd2iPU read aloud]].

It helps to hear it being [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HgCjtd2iPU read aloud]].

''Finnegans Wake''[[note]]The lack of apostrophe is deliberate. If you want rigidly accurate grammar and spelling, this is definitely not the book for you.[[/note]] is a 1939 novel written by Creator/JamesJoyce. It took him 17 years to write, and may take nearly as long to read. The novel is written in English but an idiosyncratic version of the language specifically created for this book. It is an English adapted and inflected with several multilingual and multilayered puns in the style of Creator/LewisCarroll's ''Jabberwocky'' albeit at a far bigger scale. It contains elements, usually obscure puns, from over 60 world languages. The title is a reference to a 1850s Irish ballad called "Finnegan's Wake"[[note]]It has the apostrophe as you may notice[[/note]], a drinking song that tells the story of a man resurrected at his funeral when whiskey is spilled on his corpse.

* AllJustADream: A common EpilepticTree, possibly supported by WordOfGod. Not to mention the word "wake" can mean either a funeral ceremony or waking up.

* GenreBusting: To the point where Wiki/TheOtherWiki, which is usually very good at finagling a book into a particular genre, simply gives its genre as ''sui generis''.[[note]]That's "one of a kind" for those unfamiliar with the expression.[[/note]] Of course, the first sentence of the article identifies it as "a work of [[SurrealHumor comic fiction]]" as well.

* AllJustADream: A common EpilepticTree, possibly supported by WordOfGod. Not to mention the word "wake" can mean either a funeral ceremony or [[CaptainObvious waking up]].

* TyopOnTheCover: The lack of an apostrophe is deliberate.

--> ''[[Literature/VanityFair Vanity flee and Verity fear]]! Diobell! Whalebones and buskbutts may hurt you (thwackaway thwuck!) but never lay bare your breast secret (dickette's place!) to joy a Jonas in the Dolphin's Barncar with [[Literature/OurMutualFriend your meetual fan]], [[Literature/DavidCopperfield Doveyed Covetfilles]], comepulsing payn-attention spasms between the averthisment for Ulikah's wine and a pair of pulldoors of the old cupiosity shape.''

* ResetButton: If you notice the [[spoiler: ''first'' sentence of the novel and compare it to the ''last,'' you can see that the last one can continue the first sentence, this starting the cycle once again.]]

-->-- TheOtherWiki on ''Finnegans Wake''

* GenreBusting: To the point where TheOtherWiki, which is usually very good at finagling a book into a particular genre, simply gives its genre as ''sui generis''.[[note]]That's "one of a kind" for those unfamiliar with the expression.[[/note]] Of course, the first sentence of the article identifies it as "a work of [[SurrealHumor comic fiction]]" as well.

* CallBack: In the penultimate chapter, ALP comforts Shaun after he has a nightmare about "phanthares in the room", mirroring Haines' nightmares about a panther in {{Ulysses}}. The book is also full of hidden references to Bloom and Stephen's experiences in the earlier books, and even several passages fully rewritten in "Wakese".

** For one thing the opening sentence, rather than the odd non-sequitir that it seems on surface, is actually an accurate reflection of Dublin's topography: the river Liffey runs past the Adam and Eve Church before swerving past Vico Road upon which one can find Howth Castle and its surroundings. Many other scenes refer to actual locations in Dublin, such as a monument to the Duke of Wellington, the actual Phoenix Park and the many other locations referred to there.

''Finnegans Wake''[[note]]The lack of apostophe is deliberate. If you want rigidly accurate grammar and spelling, this is definitely not the book for you.[[/note]] is a 1939 novel written by Creator/JamesJoyce. It took him 17 years to write, and may take nearly as long to read. The novel is written in English but an idiosyncratic version of the language specifically created for this book. It is an English adapted and inflected with several multilingual and multilayered puns in the style of Creator/LewisCarroll's ''Jabberwocky'' albeit at a far bigger scale. It contains elements, usually obscure puns, from over 60 world languages. The title is a reference to a 1850s Irish ballad called "Finnegan's Wake"[[note]]It has the apostrophe as you may notice[[/note]], a drinking song that tells the story of a man resurrected at his funeral when whiskey is spilled on his corpse.

** Not in, but from the book, we have three. "Quark" was borrowed from here to name the subatomic particle. JosephCampbell also first saw the word "monomyth" in its pages, and GeorgeRRMartin named a castle in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' after the first word, "riverrun".

** Not in, but from the book, we have three. "Quark" was borrowed from here to name the subatomic particle. JosephCampbell also first saw the word "monomyth" in its pages, and GeorgeRRMartin named a castle in Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire after the first word, "riverrun".

** And of course, the word "Wake" has the classic double meaning of a funeral and waking up from sleep, i.e. it can refer to both life and death. This pun is used to similar effect in the titular Irish ballad and fits the constant theme of cycle, resurrection and repitition.

* DoubleMeaningTitle: As noted by Anthony Burgess, the title has multiple meanings. Obviously it refers to the famous Irish ballad from the 19th Century music hall. But since it doesn't have an apostrophe like the song, it becomes a plural, implying multiple Finnegans rather than a single Finnegan. Likewise, the words "Fin" or "Fine" means End in French and Italian, forming the multi-lingual pun of "Fin Again Wake" or "End Again Wake" i.e. an eternal cycle of multiple ends and wakes. [[ReferenceOverdosed That's Joyce for you]].

* GuideDangIt: [[RunningGag A rare non-video game usage of the trope,]] as the richness of references used in ''Finnegans Wake'' need to be listed and referenced in a separate volume which will typically be about as massive as the text itself.

The plot, discerned over careful readings, concerns a family in the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapelizod Chapelizod area]] of UsefulNotes/{{Dublin}} and concerns the family of individuals known as Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker (HCE), his wife Anna Livia Plurabelle (ALP), and their children -- brothers Shem and Shaun, and the young sister Issy. Hilarity and Contrapuntal puns Ensue.

[[quoteright:280:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wake_9279.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:280:A more accurate title, many will find]]

Joyce began writing the book after a year long sabbatical from writing after publishing ''Literature/{{Ulysses}}'', and the novel was published serially in literary journals in the 20s and 30s under its WorkingTitle: "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Work in Progress]]". It was finally fully published in 1939 under its famous title, two years before Joyce's death. Right from the time of it serial publication, it has attracted controversy, fierce debates, and stern defenses.

''Finnegans Wake''[[note]]The lack of apostophe is deliberate. If you want rigidly accurate grammar and spelling, this is definitely not the book for you.[[/note]] is a 1939 novel written by Creator/JamesJoyce. It took him 17 years to write, and may take nearly as long to read, as it is completely written in an idiosyncratic, made-up language that vaguely resembles English spoken with a thick Irish brogue (although it contains elements, usually obscure puns, from over 60 world languages).

Critics and scholars disagree about a lot about this book, but most agree that it portrays a man's dream, and that it's full of complex, layered allusions and jokes. Arguments still rage as to whether it has a plot.

Some people have suggested that reading it out loud is the easiest way to understand it, but if you attempt this feat, TV Tropes [[OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope disclaims all responsibility]] for any long-term effects on your throat, vocal chords, or sanity.

* GratuitousForeignLanguage: Joyce would occassionally drop lines in Hindi and Turkish, just because he could. A good example is the non-sequitir: "cha kai rotty kai makkar, sahib" (Tea or Roti - bread - or butter, mister?).

** There are also paragraphs which pun on a specific theme. One paragraph in the Third Chapter puns on William Makepeace Thackeray and Creator/CharlesDickens, making references to Literature/OurMutualFriend (also a book which has a theme of resurrection) and Literature/TheOldCuriosityShop.

** Joyce also drops in some movie references (he ''did'' start and run Dublin's first cinema hall). One multilingual extended pun refers to "bilker's dozen of dowdycameraman", the dances of "lewd Buylan" (Berlin caberet) and "the phylli-sophies of Bussup Bulkeley", a double reference to both Bishop Berkeley, the philosopher and Creator/BusbyBerkeley, the musical choreographer[[note]]The word phylli-sophies, refers to both philosophies and the pun of "filly" used for girl, referring to Busby Berkeley's famously gorgeous chorines[[/note]].